God is Love: No Fear in Love

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:17-19)

We are going to be filled with something. But in order to get rid of darkness, the answer is not to try to cast out the darkness, but to turn on the light. What is the antidote to fear? Love. Perfect love casts out all Fear. God is Love and He is perfect, and His love toward us is perfect. How can we be filled with more of His Love and be free of fear? We need to “behold” (look, think deeply, meditate, chew on in thought) His Love for us.

I John 3: 1-3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

In this passage, John actually says, “Behold” or look, gaze, meditate on, chew on, think deeply about -- God’s love. And specifically, in this passage, it says to think deeply about His love as a Father, and our position or identity as His children. In the last lesson, we looked at God’s love through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and in this lesson, we are looking at the Love of God as a Father to His children.

When we want to get the Love of God deep into us, or know an attribrute or characteristic of God more, we need to study those passages of Scripture about Him, but also, we need to look at various ways those Scriptures can get deep into our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits, so that we can love God with all of our being (Matt. 22:33-40).

And right now, we are focusing on God’s love as a Father that fills us and casts out fear. Romans 8:15-16 further develops this thought, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”

Again, here we see that our identity as children of God frees us from every fear. But how can we be filled with God’s love and be freed from fear? The key to this is in I John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us” – which means that the love that we have for God, and God’s love that we can feel does not originate with us, but it originates with God. But does that mean that we are helpless to do anything about receiving the Love of God? The answer is no, of course not.

God is Love, which means that His love is ALWAYS there, whether we feel it or not, whether we experience or see it manifesting as a reality in our lives. It is there and exists and is moving constantly. But we need to receive it, and how we do it goes back to this idea of “Beholding” (look, meditate, think deeply, chew on, etc). 

2 Corinthians 3:18 says that, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This means that in order to transform (change) our thoughts, emotions, and will (choices, decisions, desires) that we need to behold (look, meditate, chew on, etc) the Glory of God – or His attributes, characteristics. This is why growing in the knowledge of God is so important – not only in head knowledge, but heart knowledge, and relational experience with Him. And we do that through praying, singing, and interacting with Scripture until it becomes a part of us and changes us.

So, let’s try that today with beholding the Love of God. Try these interactive methods of praying Scripture, and adapt them to how you see fit. You can even try this as a family with your kids, or your spouse, or with a group of friends, as well as alone in your quiet time with Jesus.

Scripture:

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:17-19)

Prayer Points:

• Jesus, I just declare who You are. You are Love. I worship You, and behold You as Love today. I want to behold and ponder Your Love as a Father toward me and How great Your Love is toward me!

• Your love is GREAT toward me, Lord! I thank You and Praise You for it.

• Show me how much You love me today, and let me feel Your Love and know it personally deep inside.

• I give you all of my fears. You said those who are in fear have not been made perfect in love. So, I give you my fear today – my fear of …….. and I ask that You would make me perfect in Love. And you would cast all fear out of my mind, will, and emotions.

• Holy Spirit, you said that those led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God, and we have not been given a bondage of fear, but a spirit of adoption. And so I cry out to you, “Abba! Father!” Come and touch me. Come and hold me. Come and give me peace. Fill me with Your love today.

• Give me boldness. Give me boldness to speak your Word to my friends and neighbors. Give me boldness to live without fear in an unstable environment.

• Make me perfect in love, Father.

• I just set my eyes on Your love today. I behold it. I receive it. It is wonderful and it is perfect. I love You, because You first loved me. You are the beginning of love and your love is eternal. Thank you, Father. I love you!

Sing: You can do this a Capello or turn on a little instrumental music or grab an instrument, and sing these phrases and prayers, and allow them to go even deeper into your heart. Allow your own words and thoughts to come out of your spirit. Allow yourself to take more or less time as you need it, and open your heart to God.

Listen: Ask Jesus to talk to You about His love for you, and just take a few minutes to pause in silence and see if He shows You anything. You might feel certain fears come up inside of you. Tell Jesus about them and ask Him to take those fears out of your life. Declare His Love and truth over yourself. Pause to see if you feel or sense anything that He might be saying to you. See if He brings anyone to your mind to pray for and pray for Him to show His love to them.

Write: Write down your thoughts or impressions in a journal, and write the different Scriptures that touched you the most, and maybe some of the reasons why they impacted you so much in this season. In times when you need encouragement, go back and read them and speak them over yourself again.

Draw or color: This is especially great for kids, or creative types. Close your eyes, and ask Jesus to give you a picture of His love for you, or have your kids do this. And then have them draw or color what they saw.